Winter-wonderful plants

Courtesy Ted Reinhart

Mahonia bealei is originally a plant native to China. After being introduced to the United States decades ago, it started thriving in isolated woodland areas where birds dropped seeds from the mahonia berries they eat. This one grows in woods in the Williamsburg, Virginia, area.

Mahonia is a winter-flowering plant that produces yellow racemes (individual flowers along long stems) January through March, depending on the weather. The plant prefers shade and moist, acidic soil. Deer usually dislike its prickly leaves.